Ax-handle.



'W. E. BURKS.

AX HANDLE APPLICATION FILED JAN. 20, 1912'.

' PatentedMar.

Inventor UNITED STATES. OFFICE.

WILLIAM EDWARD BURKS, OI GRIT, TEXAS v Ax -HANDLE;

Specification of Letters Patent. Aipplication filed, January 20, 1912.serial no. 672,510.

To all whom, it may) concern:

Be itknown that I, WILLIAM EDWARD BURKS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Grit, in the county of Mason and adapted to hold the ax headupon the handle, and one of said members bemgequipped with means adaptedto prevent a withdrawal. of the wedge whereby said members are spreadapart to engage theax head;

With the foregoing and other objectsin' View, which will appear" asthedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the'combination andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being understood that changes in the preciseembodiment of invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope ofwhat is claimed without departing from the spiritof the invention. p Inthe accompanying drawings,Fig.ure 1 shows in sideelevation, an ax handleconstructed in accordance with the presentinvention; Fig. 2'is a framental longitudinal section of that port on of the handle which isengaged within the ax head; Fig. 3 is an end view of an ax head showingthe device of the present invention mounted. therein; Fig. 4. is asection upon. the line CD of Fig. 1; and Fig. 5 is a section upon theline- EF of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is'a frag mental perspective of theinner'fa'ce of that portion of the handle which fits into the eye of theax head.

In carrying out the invention there is provided a tubular handle -1,preferably fash ioned from malleable iron. Adjacent its ends, the handleis approximately oval in section, .asindicated at 2. Intermediateitsends,'the handle l-is fashioned into octagonal form, as shown at 3,the faces ofthe octagonal part 3 being graduated as shown predeterminedlengths.

That end of the handle -1 which is inserted-into the eye of the art head5, terminates in a trough-shaped portion 6, the edges'of whichpreferably diverge toward the free end of thepor tion 6, as shown at 7.To the handle I is hin' ed a movable member 8, as shown at 9, thismember .8 being adapted to swing inwardly, upon its hinged mounting 9,between the edges 7 of the trough-shaped portion 6. The portion '6 isequipped withan outwardly extended lip 10, ada ted tooverlap the outerface of the an hea 5, and

at 4, to facilitate the laying ofi of wood into Patented Mar. 4. 1913.

the movable member. 8 is equipped with a similar lip 11, having alike-junction. The invention further includesa .tvedge 12, conformingclosely' to the interior of the tubular handle, the member 12 beininsertible may be gripped and held in position. In order. to'maintain'the wedge member '12 in place,-the parts 6 and 8 are equippedwith a series of inwardly projecting prongs 14, inclined to ermita-ready, insertion of the member 12, ut adapted to prevent a withdrawalof the. same. 4

In practical operation, the movable member 8' is swung inwardly, uponits hinged mounting 9, between the edges 7 of'the part 6 on -of the axhandle may'be inserted into the eye of the head 5, it bein noted thatthe lips 10' and 11 do not exten theiull width of the parts Grand 8,"respectively. When the handle of the ax is thus inserted into the eye ofthe head 5, the, wedge member 12 is driven to place, the movable element'8 beingforced outwardly, to bind against. the head 5 of the ax.-.. Atthe same time, the lips 10 (time lip 11 being thus retracted, so' thatthe between theparts 6 and 8, 'to e ect an outward swingin ofthe part 8,upon its hinged mount ng 9, so that the a); head 5..

and 11 will engage the outer end face otrthe head 5, as clearly shown inFig. 2. I The .pron'gs' 14, as hereinbefore described, will engage thewedge member, 12, and hold the.

same in'pla ce against withdrawal.

Having thus described the invention,what

"is claimed is In a handle fastening, a handle comprising asconstituentparts, a tubular portion having an opening at oneside-adapted to lie in the eye of a .tool-head and a member in,

hingedly' connected with the tubular portion at one end ofthe openingforfree movement],

in the opening longitudinally ofthe tubular portion; or e of saidconstitlient parts hav- In. testimony that I claim the foregoing mg apro ect1on in itsJinterior. slanting as my. own I have hereto aflixed myslgna toward the axis of the tubular portion and ture in the presenceof'two witnesses.

away from the head-engagin end of the WILLIAM EDWARD BURKS. 5 tubularportion; and a wedge 11 the tubular. Witnesses:

portion, the wedge. being engaged with the WALTJM. MARTIN,

projection. WI .E. J ORDAN.

